What did Wii do for gaming?

[tapedeck]

It's been too long. Too long since I asked you to think about a reply to a thought-provoking post and too long since I thought about the gaming landscape that Nintendo has carved out for itself around their deep blue ocean.

 

And my how times change. Forgive me for dreaming like a 10yr old, but Nintendo have unleashed their next, incredible card and a fully-functional 3D gaming device with no headset in sight is just...astounding. Consider me well and truly surprised all over again by the company that gives me faith in business. The company that seems to have a genuine love for games and a company that seems to manufacture 'fun'.

 

Yet Wii has brought more fun than I ever could have imagined. It seems like yesterday that families all over the world were being wowed by Wii Sports and Nintendo stalwarts were digging into Twilight Princess and the VC. And year after year there has always been something to experience on Wii, even if it was the experience of a fully functional work out experience, playing Mario Kart with a wheel and your family, or even playing classics in all their original glory; Wii has brought so much to the table.

Heck, play Super Mario Galaxy 2 and you may just get the feeling that Nintendo are at the peak of their powers.

 

So it was interesting to see Sony and Microsoft truly come full circle with their motion controllers, finally we got to see the main attractions: the games themselves. And, sure, the tech was nothing but impressive and yes, some big developers are on board, but I couldn't help but think we had seen a lot of the software before. Sony's Wizard game reminded me of Harry Potter on Wii, circa 2008. Harmonix' dance game seemed like Just Dance in HD and, well, everyone seemed to be still rubbing their eyes having seen the 3DS.

 

Yet this was far from a negative reaction...

 

It then dawned on me that Wii has created so much. From new experiences that have been, at times, brilliant to existing experiences wrapped up in new ways to play (PES springs to mind) and much more. We've all experienced a 'game changer' on Wii and we've had the pleasure of having the experience of titles like Mario Galaxy, No More Heroes, Guitar Hero, Monster Hunter Tri amongst more sleeper hits than any console before. Little Kings Story, Endless Ocean, De Blob, a Boy and his Blob and other 'fun' games like Excitebots, Mario Strikers etc come to mind.

 

So as we look to the future of Nintendo gaming, what have been your moments from Nintendo over the past few years where you've sat down and said "THIS is why I. still. play."

 

Thoughts as usual : peace:

[Tellyn]

The point you make about sleeper hits is an interesting one. I think the Wii and DS have more so-called "cult games" than any consoles before it. Developers seem more willing, despite moderately sub-par sales, to bring more unique, niche gaming experiences to us. I love this, even if most of the public and the "Wii Has No Games" Society refuses to acknowledge it!

[Charlie]

I don't want to appear bitchy so early on in the thread but the Wii has put me off Nintendo consoles. It's really not my type of gaming. My favourite games on the Wii are the ones that you play with the GameCube controller (Smash Bros, Mario Kart). I just prefer sitting back with a pad inbetween my hands when I play games. Twilight Princess, which I thought was a fantastic game, I thought was worse of because of the Wii remote as the mindless slashing just got annoying to me. New Super Mario Bros which I think is great, again is annoying because of the Wiimote actions. It would work exactly the same if you didn't need to shake the controller every so often or whatever you need to do.

 

On the otherside so you know I do know what I'm talking about, I know the Wii has brought loads of people into gaming who would never have dreamed they would start playing video games and that these people love the Wii.

[Pookiablo]

It's a strange one for me. I do think the Wii is a top console and is worthy of being remembered in decades to come. However, I don't remember it for the motion controls, and rather, as you say, some exceptional software, even if it is a little bit too far and between for my liking. Most importantly, it's perhaps the biggest reminder that although Nintendo may make mistakes (hint: Gamecube), it still always has the magic to pull out some cracking stuff. I have to commend their casual title approach too, it's made playing with new or non-gamers a lot more fun.

 

Which leads me on to my next point: Wii has allowed for the glorious return of local multiplayer. I like the fact that people are getting together in living rooms to play Wii Sports or smash it up in a bit of Smash Bros Brawl. I only hope that the new Goldeneye provides a similar experience.

 

I most certainly don't think Wii is revolutionary or the best thing since sliced bread - the only revolutionary console to have ever existed was the Nintendo 64. It did far more for gaming than most people realise.

[STOOPIDDITTIES]

The Wii is as its codename suggested. A revolution. Why? Well it allowed me to play videogames with attractive girls who were previously too stupid to press more than one button. Rock on Nintendo.

[Jonnas]

Well, I don't know what else I can add...

 

I'm just glad the Wii offers easily accessible multiplayer games. I was sick and tired of having to explain complicated controls to guests, who'd button-mash anyway because the GC controller has so many buttons, it's hard to remember what they do.

 

Also, I love the sleeper hits, even those that don't use the Wii in imaginative ways. Mostly because even those will keep it simple.

[Konfucius]

The first few month I bought every game that offered a new take on the motion controls but after I had seen many different things I felt that the pointer is a less precise PC mouse and the motion controls were easily tricked and therefore killed the immersion for me. In many cases they did not require motions that would be copied by the ingame character - for instance reloading by shaking the Wiimote - and then shaking the Wiimote doesn't make any more sense than pressing a button, because it is an action mapped to another form of input.

When I played for several hours I actually got annoyed at that because pressing a button would be a lot easier and would not make a difference gameplay- and immersion-wise.

 

However splitting the controller into two was a brilliant idea.

 

I think once gaming truly goes 3D the benefit of what the Wii started will be visible, because interaction devices should go 3D as well then. Still I think the most important functions shoud still be on buttons and if they aren't we need force feedback, visual feedback alone gives little precision improvement over button-pressing.

But so far I think the Wii controls only make sense for shooters and swordfighting and I don't care if Wii games use the motion-stuff at all I just care whether they are good or not.

Edited June 30, 2010 by Konfucius

[dazzybee]

"THIS is why I. still. play."

 

This sums up Nintendo for me. I was about to finally give up gaming, something I'd done since I was literally 3 years old on the rubber keyed spectrum. I'd bought every single console and handheld and computing device to play games on and I was bored...done for....

 

And then the DS came out. I was back, excited.

 

Then the Wii game out and made me as (if not more) passionate about gaming then I'd ever been!!

[Fused King]

Exactly Dazzybee, exactly. Spot on.....spot....on!

 

NINTENDO and co. seem to really bring a lot of variety in gaming which keeps things exciting for me.

The so-called 'sleeper hits' probably came to be because proper 3rd Party Developers wanted to show that the Wii (and DS to some degree) can deliver in both epic and quirky Japanese ways:laughing:

 

My highlight was probably Little King's Story (DAAKUUSNOOWWWMAN PLAY IT!) .

Philosophy and the word 'emo' in a game, along with numerous twisted life lessons wrapped in a colour pallet you'd have your kids play with......

 

CING = WIN!

 

Oh yeah, Motion Controls....the state of it is still rather primitive, but trying it out (and +) were truly magical moments.

[Cube]

NINTENDO and co. seem to really bring a lot of variety in gaming which keeps things exciting for me.

 

Definitely. I've been away from the Wii from 3 years and am using Lovefilm to catch up. I have 35 games on my rental list and they're surprisingly varied.

[Fierce_LiNk]

When I think of Nintendo, I imagine a wardrobe. They've pulled out some great things from there, but you always know that there are more things inside the wardrobe that could be pulled out at any time in the future. Take this E3 for example, seeing Donkey Kong, Kid Icarus and Kirby as well as a New Zelda was typical Nintendo. Who honestly was expecting a new Kirby to look like that or to have a continuation of DKC?

 

The Wii has been excellent so far for me. Really enjoying it. Plus, I can take heart in the fact that there's a dozen or so great games out there that I don't own (MH3, Galaxy 2, NMH2), with more to come. I'm definitely enjoying it more than the Cube, possibly more than the Snes. Its third party games are better than those on the 64 (outside of Rare, the 64 didn't shine there). So, its probably my favourite console. And thats without all this Wiiware/VC stuff. I want to dabble in that, eventually.

[Emasher]

In the future, when the graphical capability of consoles has improved significantly from that of the PS3 and Xbox 360 people aren't going to judge the Wii based on its graphical capabilities anymore. We'll obviously still be able to tell the difference, but since everything else from this time will be outdated, we're not going to really care so much about it anymore. Only then will we see the place the console takes in gaming history. At that point, I can see people looking past all the garbage on the console and appreciating games like Zach and Wiki, ect. Tons of the games that haven't been selling all that well on the Wii will probably eventually become the sort of games that sell for twice their original retail price on eBay. Depending on what happens with motion controls in the next generation, the Wii could also be seen as the console that started it all (I doubt people will call it that if motion controls eventually fade out though).

[darkjak]

I think that Nintendo did a pretty clever thing actually.

The PS3 and XB360's main selling points were graphics. That selling point has faded with time, and will continue to fade. The PS3 and the 360 will get shat all over when Nintendo launch their next gen console, and because the Wii was for the casual from the start, it will live on long after its successor has been released. Putting it simply, Nintendo have created an NES for the new century.

Nintendo also created a new way to control games, which anyone including my mother can understand (she's quite literally started o play Wii Sports and New Mario Bros, and is now enjoying video games).

 

 

However, there ARE complaints. Nintendoare rich as trolls, and should afford to start upp a whole bunch of new teams. They should also afford to buy exclusivity deals and invest in their second party developers. Retro Studios were working on four different games at the time of the GC's release.They were all canned to get Metroid Prime finished. Nintendo should give Retro financial resources to grow enough to become what Rare were in the 90's!

It's been said a thousand times before, but Nintendo need to do something about the lack of high quality core games. So finally the Wii has got, and is getting good first person shooters (Goldeneye, Grinder, Conduit 1&2, Modern Warfare). But where are the fighters and racers? Couldn't Nintendo get Team Ninja to make a Dead or Alive game at the same time as Other M?

Is it too much to ask to make a game on par with Gran Turismo 3 or Forza 1?

[Coolness Bears]

Personally they brought me Kororinpa.

 

 

I can die a happy man and roll up into heaven as a piece of sports equipment or animal with varying speeds and obstacles along the way!

 

...wait no I can't I need to play Marbles! Balance Challenge the sequel first.

[Pookiablo]

Post

 

I agree. I think Nintendo seem to be playing it a bit too cautious - they should be doing what Sony did with the PS1 and getting a fuckload of (good/cool) software on board - it worked wonders for Sony and helped to kill the 64, even if 4/5 of it was utter shite (I blame the FMV personally).

[Josh64]

The Wii has been incredible and is by far my favourite console ever.

The reasons...

Two of the BEST Mario games ever, Galaxy 1 and 2. Seriously, I thought Galaxy was amazing and that Nintendo could never better it but they did AND on the SAME CONSOLE! There was an awesome Zelda (even if it was a Gamecube game) and the biggest and best Smash Bros to date.

 

But those were the reasons I brought the Wii, it's the surprises that blew me away the most. The first time I played Wii Sports has to be one of the best moments in gaming! I also loved the fact that the Wii could do so much more than gaming, from messing about with peoples heads on the Photo Channel to watching the BBC, it's awesome how Nintendo have expanded the functionality of their console.

 

what I love the most though is the local multiplayer. I've never had such fun with a console since my N64 and Mario Kart, there's so much choice too! Whether were making fools of ourselves on Just Dance, having intense dance off's on SAMBA DE AMIGO or racing on the awesome'ness that is Mario Kart Wii, there's nothing better!

 

But finally, what really tops off the Wii is the sheer amount of incredible and over looked games! On most Nintendo consoles I stick to the usual Mario, Zelda and Metroid dose of games with a few exceptions but this generation I've brought so many INCREDIBLE games which have been so much fun!

Excite Bots is one of the craziest yet most enjoyable racers I've ever played, Muscle March is the most insanely Japanese game I've ever played, NiGHTS is brilliant in so many ways, Klonoa is a cute and fun platformer...

And that's before I even mention the likes of MySims, Tatsunoko VS Capcom, Excite Truck, Animal Crossing, Kororinpa, Helix, New Super Mario Bros, No More Heroes, Sports Resort and god knows what else!

 

Yet the best thing? The fact that so far into the Wii's life time, we still have such great games to come. a SECOND Zelda on Wii, a new DK platformer and what looks like one of the best Kirby's yet!

 

I don't care what anyone says about the Wii, for me, it is the best console ever. Shit, I forgot to mention the Virtual Console but basically - Virtual Console FTW

[Cube]

Excite Bots is one of the craziest yet most enjoyable racers I've ever played

 

Please don't mention that game on this forum. Particularity if you're mentioning how good it is.

[Josh64]

Please don't mention that game on this forum. Particularity if you're mentioning how good it is.

 

I still don't know why it wasn't released in Europe, I have no idea what Nintendo were thinking.

It also means that you miss out on the racing equivalent of a Falcon Punch...

SUPER SANDWICH!!

 

[SHUCKLE MAN]

Well, for me, it's all about the games. The graphics are now good enough on all main consoles that I don't care anymore (and I think as time goes on, more and more people will begin holding a similar viewpoint). I also don't really care about the controllers, as long as they're not atrocious.

 

I loved the Nintendo 64. It had many, many great games, which I still play today. Lylat Wars was my favourite. There was also Pokemon Stadium, Super Mario 64, Zelda, Mario Kart, which I absolutely loved too, and still do now. The Gamecube was really a step down. There weren't so many good games, I thought. Windwaker was fantastic. MKDD was awesome. Super Smash Bros. Melee was the highlight of the console. I enjoyed the many Mario Party games too. That was pretty much it though. I enjoyed it, but I kept wishing I was back in the Nintendo 64 days.

 

When it comes down to the Wii, at first, I was very very disappointed. I thought it might be even worse than the Gamecube. There just weren't enough games. However, travel forward a few years, and I'm more than satisfied! The Wii has been so much fun! It's a shame, because when I tell a lot of people I've got a Wii, it's always the controller they talk about. They're always like "Yeah, the controller is kind of cool", and I usually nod along politely, but it is annoying, when I don't even use the Wiimote most of the time. What about the amazing games!?!

 

On the other hand, the Wii has been awesome in another sense. I remember 10 years ago, wishing that more people could experience the awesome games I play, such as Mario Kart. It sort of makes me happy that Mario Kart Wii is now one of the best-selling video games in history, just because I think the series really deserves that much success, and people understand why I like the games so much now!

[Pit-Jr]

The Wii has been such a double-edged sword. So much so that ive bought and sold the thing twice.

 

Awesome games and ideas, backed by frustrating hardware and deceptive marketing

 

I fully admit that Skyward Sword makes me want a 3rd Wii.